The Hill
by Crazyish Emu
Summary: Will never imagined he would ever go back to the di Angelo hill after the funerals of his parents and brother. But when proof of them being alive comes forward he has to choose between asking the reclusive di Angelo heir for help or risking accidentally telling the supposed "killer." Should Will trust his friends or a boy he's only seen once?
1. Chapter 1

_Ring around the rosie._

Dark clouds hung low in the sky, thunder cackling in the distance as mothers ushered children into their homes. The warm afternoon that had been so full of laughter and gossiping women and men was now blanketed in a thick coat of silence. Shutters snapped shut, doors bolted, many dogs were tugged into households from their place in the backyard. This wasn't the first time a storm had hit the staggeringly dry city of Mauvais Lieu - nor was it the last - and the townspeople had prepared for the worst, as they always did.

Mauvais Lieu was a small little run-down village by the River of Seers. Mauvais Lieu - pronounced "moo-vey lee-you" - was french for the english term "Bad Place." And a proper name it was for that little town on the edge of Seers.

Within the winding dirt paths and sagging houses, there were only four families who actually mattered to the development of Mauvais; the Chases, the Jacksons, the Solaces, and the di Angelos - a reclusive family who lived in a large house atop the hill. No one had seen them for years and rumor had it that they were actually dead and their ghost haunted the area, flicking on lights and slamming doors in the middle of the night.

Except now the house was silent, and still, and dark.

 _A pocketful of posies._

The windows of the Solace family house rattled with anticipation as the storm began to clamber down the rocky di Angelo hill. Only two people lived in this home - brothers, they were - the smallest family in all of Mavais. "Do you think the roof will blow away again?" The younger of the two brothers, Will, asked. He was a curious child, far too intelligent for his twelve years of life. Lee - the eldest - shook his head, a smile playing on his thin lips. "I don't think so. The roof is a lot sturdier now than five years ago."

Will shuffled over to the large arm chair that Lee sat in, reading. "Will you sing me a lullaby before the storm hits?" Lee closed his book gently and stood, his brother dragging him into their shared bedroom. The warm light of a candle flickered in the far corner of the room, giving the deep growls of the sky an almost-eerie tone. Will let go of Lee's hand and scrambled under the thick wool sheets that served as blankets for the two of them.

"What song?" Lee asked softly. The lullaby's were a common thing in the Solace household. Ever since their mother's death, their way of coping included singing her old songs and cooking her same meals. They even learned to sew a new symbol onto their Christmas stockings every year.

Will thought carefully for a few seconds. "Something I've never heard," he said finally.

Lee took a deep breath, not having to think for a moment before his soft voice filled the dim room.

 _Ashes, ashes._

"Beth, hurry up. Father will close the door on us if we don't hurry." Annabeth Chase shot up from her bed when her little brother whispered the word "door." In the Chase family, the "door" was both a metaphorical and physical thing. During the storms or the rare raid here and there, the "door" opened up into a hidden underground room that was restocked every month with food and extra goods. In the metaphorical sense, however, if you fell out of line or messed up the door was slammed on you and you woke up with a few bruises and no meals for three days. In this case it was metaphorical and physical from what Beth could hear outside.

"Annie, come _on._ " This time Bobby's voice was urgent and fearful. slipped her feet into her boots and laced tham as fast as she could. She stumbled a few times running down the long, creaky hallways of her house and ended up in the kitchen where she took to prying up the loose board under the table. "What are you _doing in here_?" Beth flinched at her older brother's outraged voice. She knew that Malcolm meant well, he was just worried about the little time they had before their father shut the door on all three of them. _Three._

"Where's Matthew?" Beth asked, mildly panicked. Malcolm answered, "he's with dad. Now _what are you doing?_ " Beth had finally gotten the floor board off and was stuffing a small bag under her arm and attempting to conceal it with her shawl. "You're going to get us killed!" Bobby shrieked. "Then go!" Beth snapped. Bobby didn't budge.

They all jumped as the thunder boomed overhead. Beth wedged the board back into the floor and scrambled to her feet, taking her siblings hands and dragging them after her. The bag slipped and fell to the floor with a heavy, metallic _clang!_ She grabbed for it and froze when she caught sight of her neighbor staring at her with wide eyes. She smiled a little, raising her hand to wave when she realized he wasn't looking at her, he was looking above her house. She noted that his usually tan face was now pale and fear-stricken. Beth picked up her bag and ran to the window on the opposite side of the hall.

Bobby and Malcolm were at the "door", motioning for her to come when scream erupted from Beth's mouth as she looked up the hill to where her neighbor, Lee, had been staring. It was way up high on the di Angelo hill all the way to the front porch where a boy in a white dress shirt stood in the rain with a wooden staff raised high into the sky. And he was smiling right at Beth.

 _We all fall_

 _down._


	2. Chapter 2

Six years later…

Will was never fond of the cold. He always struck down with a terrible fever during the winter and could barely sleep with the chills of Mauvais' desperate winds tiptoeing under his blanket from the window his brother had always left open. He had never figured out why Lee always left that window open. Whether rain or shine Will would wake to the open window and fall asleep staring into the fuzzy darkness of the night. But now as Will trudged through the muddy hillside of the di Angelo property, he could see the window. Closed.

It was a hard task to actually close it after everything that had happened with Lee, but the biting cold had been sharp as a sword when Will finally slid out of bed.

Malcolm Pace and Percy Jackson walked alongside Will on their trek to the cemetery, the Chase siblings not far behind. The one thing that agitated Will, however, were the sympathetic gazes that flickered towards him every few seconds, as if waiting for him to fall apart. The group of six huddled together as they walked through the drizzling, grey scenery, stopping only when they came to a very well-polished wrought-iron fence. "Welcome to The Underworld necropolis where the dead live on until the entirety of belief in their existence has shriveled like a dried plum. I am assuming that you are here for the Fletcher boy, correct?" A tall man clad in a suit darker than black was leaning against the gate, his eyes matching his onyx-colored tie.

"Well, aren't you?" Will hadn't even realized he was staring until the old man's voice broke through the silence. The others had been staring too, he could feel the embarrassment radiating off of them.

As children, they were told stories about the old man who lived up in the di Angelo manor. No one truly knew his name, so they called him "Hades."

"Yeah-yes, we're here for… " Percy looked at Will, as if asking for permission to continue. "Lee. Lee Fletcher." The dark eyes of Hades slid across the oldest Chase sibling, Annabeth - she'd asked to be called by her full first name after her father travelled to New York and never returned - and landed on Will's face with a tight expression. Malcolm stepped forward, his hand outstretched towards him. "Thank you for letting us come up here." Hades looked at Malcolm's hand distastefully and unlatched the gate. "I assume you know where to go, just be gone by noon." And with that, Hades slipped back towards his house, the fog reducing him to a faint silhouette.

The twins were starting to bounce as they clung to Annabeth's hand and Will was almost positive they would have sprinted away from here if not for the fact that they adored Percy. Will would have chuckled if this were under normal circumstances, but this was nowhere near normal. Literally.

The group tiptoed into the large area, careful not to make a sound for fear the dead would awaken. It had been three years since the funeral of Lee and the very group that walked down that gravel pathway three years ago was the same group that now visited Lee on his death date.

When they finally reached Lee's grave, Will already felt he had had enough of this place. Usually when they came it was sunny and warm. Now the sky was dark, the air cold and full of moisture. Bobby and Matthew had now switched from Annabeth's hands to Percy's, earning the older boy a dark look from the tall blonde. Malcolm sat next to the small slab of stone. "Hey bud, how you doing down there? Is it fun being on the throne of hell?" Annabeth slapped his shoulder before speaking. "He's joking, you'd probably be laboring in the work fields because you could never lead worth anything."

"She's right," Percy chimed in. The twins nodded in agreement. Will took a small pouch from the pocket of his jacket and took out the cookies from inside, distributing them through the group. "I brought snickerdoodles drizzled in honey," he said, "your favorite." Malcolm looked at him warily before biting into the treat. "He always made these, you know."

Will stared. "What do you mean?" he asked. How had he never known this? Lee never made cookies when Will was home. "You've been to my house before?" A faint pink was spreading across Malcolm's cheeks. "I-uh, yeah. A few times." And for the first time since he was thirteen, Will was absolutely speechless.


End file.
